After years on the sidelines of Africa’s fast-growing business tourism market, Kenya is making a renewed push to claim its place among the continent’s leading Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) destinations following Cabinet approval for the return of the national convention bureau.
The Kenya National Convention Bureau (KNCB), first launched in 2019 under then Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, was created to coordinate and market Kenya as a competitive hub for international meetings and conferences.
However, budget constraints and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the bureau dissolved barely a year later, stalling momentum in the country’s MICE drive.
The Cabinet’s decision to operationalise the bureau once again gives Kenya a second chance to compete with established African MICE giants such as Kigali in Rwanda and Cape Town in South Africa, both of which have invested heavily in modern facilities, strong destination branding and coordinated global bidding strategies.
Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano said the re-established bureau will be critical in strengthening Kenya’s global standing as a preferred destination for high-value business events.
“MICE tourism is high-value tourism that supports our local economy and our incredible wildlife conservation efforts,” Miano said following the Cabinet approval.
The renewed focus on MICE comes at a time when the government is targeting double-digit growth in business tourism as part of a broader plan to increase international arrivals to at least five million and generate Ksh 800 billion in tourism earnings by 2027. Unlike leisure travel, MICE tourism attracts high-spending visitors who travel year-round and often return for future events or holidays.
Kenya recorded a strong rebound in international tourism in 2024, welcoming 2.4 million visitors compared to 2.09 million in 2023. Of these, 643,595 visitors, or 26.9 per cent, travelled to the country for business and conference purposes.
Leisure remained the top reason for travel, accounting for 1,058,026 visitors or 44.25 per cent, while 526,071 visitors, about 22 per cent, came to visit friends and relatives. Other travel purposes included sports, education and medical visits.
Industry data show that Kenya hosted more than 3,000 business events in 2023, generating an estimated Sh11 billion for the economy. Nairobi accounted for roughly 80 per cent of these events due to its concentration of hotels, conference venues and transport links. Mombasa and Kisumu are also gaining ground, recording a combined 20 per cent year-on-year growth in conference bookings as demand spreads beyond the capital.
Despite these gains, growth in the MICE sector has been held back by infrastructure gaps, fragmented marketing efforts and limited investment in event technology. These challenges have not only affected Kenya but have also contributed to Africa’s generally low share of the global MICE market.
Globally, the MICE industry is expanding rapidly, with its value projected to surpass $1.78 trillion (about Ksh 230 trillion) by 2030, up from $916 billion (Sh119 trillion) in 2019. Yet Africa captures less than three per cent of this market.
Only two African cities — Cape Town and Kigali — consistently feature in the top 100 global MICE destinations ranked by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
According to the Africa Tourism Monitor, MICE events generate three to five times more revenue per visitor than leisure tourism, highlighting why many governments are investing heavily in the sector.
Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) chief executive James Mwaura, who also chairs the ICCA Africa Chapter, said Kenya has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to host large-scale regional and global events.
He cited meetings such as the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference (MC13), the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), the Africa Climate Summit, and the recent COMESA Heads of State and Government Summit held in Nairobi.
The Cabinet’s approval of KNCB’s return is also part of Kenya’s preparations to host the 4th COMESA–EAC–SADC Tripartite Summit scheduled for mid-2026, an event expected to attract thousands of delegates and significant international attention.
Going forward, the revived convention bureau is expected to take a more strategic approach to bidding for international events and coordinating public and private sector players.
Kenya is likely to draw lessons from Rwanda, where the Kigali Convention Centre hosted over 110 international events in 2023 alone, contributing more than Sh10.3 billion to the local economy.
South Africa has also shown the benefits of a strong national convention bureau. Through the South Africa National Convention Bureau, the country secured 66 international conference bids in 2022, translating into Ksh 588 million in direct economic impact.
With only five convention centres in Africa capable of hosting more than 5,000 delegates, Kenya believes that a focused strategy, improved coordination and targeted investment will help it capture a larger share of the lucrative MICE market and firmly position the country as a leading business events destination on the continent.
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